Almost A Year Ago
by andreakayy
Summary: On Feb. 14, 2003 Scully and Mulder have two very missed people show up at their house in Canada, where they've been hiding. They bring along with them some who was extremely missed. HAPPY VDAY. encludes MSR & William. R&R PLEASE!


**My Valentine's Day Story Is a little late... sorry. My internet wasn't working.  
I'm thinking of writing a story based on what happens after this story.  
Please, Read and Review!**

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files. But I do own seasons 1-9 and the movie! my collection is complete:D

The morning sunned streamed through the frosted window panes and filled the bedroom. It was February 14th, 2003, and it was almost a year since they arrived in Toronto, Canada. It was almost a year since two best friends and lovers were re-united, and almost a year since they've been on the run. However, it had only been about half a year since the two had become one in marriage under the names of Robert and Laura Schultz. At first, they were to leave the continent, but that was what was expected. So, they just made their way up north to Canada. Laura rolled out of bed and onto the floor with a thump.

"Oww!" She whined with her long red hair a mess everywhere, not showing her face. The white down comforter hung lazily off the side of the empty bed while Laura began to get up. Once up straight she began to fix her hair with her fingers so that it was relatively neat and out of her eyes. She smoothed her Carolina blue silk pajamas as she made her way out of the bedroom and down the steps to her husband who was presumably in the kitchen.

He was a tall man with brown hair and mysterious dark green eyes. He was muscular, and his smile was beautiful and entrancing. He showed it once he saw the sight of his wife coming into the room. He wore dark grey dress pants, a white dress shirt, a red sweater vest, and black tie.

He poured his cup of coffee and then pulled his wife into a warm embrace, taking in the scent of her vanilla smelling hair.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Scully," He said while holding her. He only called her that while they were alone or when it wasn't audible to other people.

"Happy Valentine's, Day Mulder," She got on her tip toes and kissed his lips. That was what she called him when they were alone or when it wasn't audible to other people.

Mulder grabbed her head and pulled it to him more so that it would be a more deeper and passionate kiss. Pulling away after a few moments, they both smiled.

"Are you going in to work today, Scully?" Mulder asked before taking a sip from his coffee mug.

"Yes, I just woke up a little late. I wanted to say goodbye before you left since you have that early meeting." Scully moved to get some coffee herself.

Their house wasn't that big, but it wasn't all that small either. There were two three floors, two and a half bathrooms, and three bedrooms. Once they arrived in London, Skinner, under a false name sent them money to buy a house. But that letter so many months ago was the last they had heard from him. Now, they were on their own. Mulder got a job as a school guidance counselor, while Scully at that same school became a school nurse. 

Scully checked her watch which read 8 AM. Since Mulder had the meeting he had to be there at 8:15, and Scully had to at 9:08 AM. Luckily, Season Creek Intermediate School was only two roads away.

"Are you going to be home by five today?" Mulder asked, rinsing out his coffee mug.

"Yes, I just have a little bit of paper work that I-"Mulder laughed lightly. "Is something funny?" Mulder turned away causing Scully to realize why he had chuckled a bit. "Let's not talk about that today, Mulder. Not on Valentine's Day." Mulder walked over to Scully and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I'll see you during our lunch break. Now, I want you to smile," Scully's uncertainly which shown on her face turned into a happiness Mulder had brought. "I don't want to see you upset or anything. Now, I'll be getting home around five thirty. Please, try and be ready by that time. We're going out. I love you, Dana." Mulder placed another kiss on her lips before turning away to grab his coat and scarf.

"I love you too, Mr. Schultz!" Scully called to Mulder with a slight smirk once he was at the door. "Bye Mulder." She said softly, but soft enough for her him to hear. He waved goodbye as soon as his scarf was tied properly, and he left.

Scully sighed heavily at the sound of the door closing and then just reminded herself that she too better get a move on. She walked up the steps, and then into her bedroom.

After pulling out some grey colored dress pants with rose colored pinstripes, Scully pulled out a nice fitted button down blouse to match the rose pinstripes. Following her everyday routine, she then drew on her eyeliner, left to right like she had been for the past 10 years. After applying her mascara with her mouth slightly opened, she glanced down at the picture on her vanity, her son.

William would be almost two now. She and Mulder had missed out on many firsts of his. Still, Mulder told her when the timing was right they would go back for him. There wasn't a day that went by that William wasn't on Mulder's or her mind. She could only hope that he was happy. He would be talking in short sentences by now, throwing tantrums, laughing up a storm, and running around. Dogget and Reyes, whom Scully and Mulder hadn't heard from since about five months ago had promised that they would make sure that if something happened to William's family or if he were suddenly put into danger they would notify them. Dogget, Reyes, and Skinner only kept in touch through different email accounts, under false names, and they accessed those emails from a different location time.

A tear rolled down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away and zipped up her make-up bag, ready to stick it back into her purse. Getting up from her vanity, she grabbed her purse, and then her bag for work before heading down the steps and out the door.

"Hi there, Robbie," Scully said leaning up to Mulder's cheek placing a kiss on it.

"Hey, Laur," Mulder smiled.

"How did the meeting go? Well?"

"Eh, it was a meeting. It went the usual." They stood there for a moment just behind the entrance of the school. It was like this every day, Mulder walked Scully to her office which was right next to the main office, where his office was.

The day went differently than usual, but only because it was Valentine's Day. Every single classroom, since the grades were 3-5 having a party during the end of the day. In the beginning of the day, Scully received Valentines from various students dropping in and out of her office to say hello. She counted nine Dora the Explorer, five Power Rangers, seven Steve Irwins (A/n: God bless him!), ten hello kitties, two strawberry shortcakes, seven harry potters, and four nascars. Scully was quite popular amongst the children.

Once Mulder had sat down at his desk he pulled out a photo frame from the locked drawer. It was the same photo Scully had shed a tear at earlier. It was the photo of William at 5 months old. It was taken in a studio and William had an adorable little grin from which he had taken from his father. He clutched the bear Mulder had given him tight and looked at the camera.

Mulder smiled at seeing his little boy's picture. Sometimes, he would just grab it out of his desk to look at. He would day dream every free moment that he had in that office. He would think about how things could be different. He would think about life with his son and wife, together. Mulder wanted that life so desperately, and he knew Scully did too. But, now was not the time. He and Scully were on the run and William was completely safe. If something were to happen to endanger him, Reyes and Dogget or Skinner would contact them somehow. Then, if that should happen, William would somehow be re-united with him in Scully. This was all pre-arranged.

---  
Scully knocked on the door around 11:43 during their lunch break.

"Knock, knock," Scully said from behind the door.

"Nobody in here besides S.C.I.S.'s most unwanted." That was one FBI joke that made Scully smile. It made her remember the first words Mulder had ever said to her. She chuckled softly coming in, and Mulder looked up to her eyes.

"Anything good today?" Scully asked just as a pencil fell from the ceiling. "Some things never change," Scully shook her head, shutting the door.

"Nope," Mulder wheeled on his chair towards her. "I got some good Valentines though... But, you're by far my favorite one." He pulled her lips to his in a passionate kiss, sending shock waves all throughout Scully's body.

"Mmm, Mulder," Scully pulled away after a few moments, letting his name slip. "Robbie," She corrected herself placing his brown paper bagged lunch on the desk.

Just as Scully and Mulder finished up their lunches there was a knock at the door.

"Yes," Mulder called in his professional tone.

"Mr. Schultz," Someone from the other side of the door spoke softly. "May I come in?"

"Please do," Mulder said now a bit concerned but trying to stay in a light mood for the incoming child's sake. "I'll see you later, baby," Mulder said as a young girl in the fourth grade came in.

"Tayler!" Scully exclaimed seeing the girl cry and seeing her covering his bleeding nose incorrectly with a tissue. "Oh, sit down and let me see your nose before you talk to Mr. Schultz."

"My teacher just gave me a tissue; I knew you were at lunch Mrs. Schultz." The pretty fourth grader with brown hair and blue eyes spoke.

"Oh, sweetie, don't talk for a second. I need to see your nose." Scully took the tissue from her hands to see that it was bleeding badly. "Tell me if this hurts," Scully tapped around her nose and got no response from Tayler. "Well, sweetheart, I don't think it's broken. Just keep pinching your nose and keep your head tilted back. If you get any blood in your mouth I want you to spit it out in this garbage can, okay?" Scully grabbed the garbage can for the girl just as Mulder's phone for school began to ring. He looked as if he was going to pick it up, but he decided to just hit the silent button and let the machine get it. 

---  
"No answer," The woman with dark hair holding a small bundled up child told the man next to her.

"Well, they can't say we didn't call, can they?" The man with the southern accent said with mild humor. He caused her to smile. He pressed a kiss on her cheek and began walking off in the direction of their car.

---

"It's stopped, Tayler," Scully took the tissue and threw it out. "You can talk to Mr. Schultz now. If your nose begins to bleed again get me immediately. Hopefully, that will not happen. Bye sweetie. Bye Mr. Schultz." Mulder smiled as Scully left the room. As she shut the door Tayler could be heard in the behind it.

"Why do you have pencils in your ceiling?" She giggled.

---

Scully was not at all busy through the rest of the day. She finished all of her paper work and she would be able to return home earlier than planned. Mulder on the other hand, had kids who were acting up in his office all afternoon. Luckily, Mulder was also well liked the children; they gave him no trouble.

---  
It was five and Scully had just got done re-straightening her hair, which was just below the shoulders like it was when they had just left D.C. Her makeup was all fixed up and she just put her diamond studs in. She took another long look at William's picture on her vanity and this time she just smiles.

'At least he's safe,' Scully thought before grabbing it and taking a long look at it.

He wore black pants and a white dress shirt. His stuffed bear from Mulder was held tightly in his arms; he loved that thing. He was laughing in this picture. Scully remembered having to talk like a baby in front of the photographers to get him to laugh. His smile was almost identical to Mulder's... if Mulder suddenly lost all of his teeth. His eyes were blue like the sky, inherited from his mother. His hair... well he didn't have any yet. And his nose was not a Scully nose. It was undoubtedly the same as Mulder's. She wondered what William looked like nowadays. That's what she always wondered. Sometimes in her dreams she was so sure that it was him, because of her clear picture that when she would wake up she would begin to cry. She would cry into Mulder's arms for hours until she became calm again. Giving him up, and then trying to face the fact you may never see him again was the hardest things for Scully to do.

"Scully!" Mulder called out after shutting the front door. HE began walking up the stairs and surprised Scully with a bouquet of red roses.

Scully kissed him on the lips passionately for about a few seconds and then pulled away to let him get dressed while she was to put the flowers in a vase. Scully arranged the flowers beautifully and moved the living room to see how bad the roads were. Looking out the window, she saw snow dusted pine trees, a snowy front yard, and a lightly dusted with a blanket of snow road. But it was what was on the road that got her attention. There, sitting straight across the street was a black lexus which didn't have the windows tinted. Scully could clearly see who was inside, but she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Mulder! Mulder!" Scully called out in a hurry. Something in her voice made Mulder rush down the steps to her side.

"Yes? What? Is something the matter?" He panicked before he knew what was wrong.

"Tell me I'm crazy. Tell me I'm seeing things," Scully pointed out into the street at two familiar faces in the car. Those two familiar faces looked right back at her. Mulder motioned for them to come in, and the man opened his door, followed by the woman.

Scully had excitement written all over her face. She smiled at Mulder who wasn't at all smiling back.

"Hurry, Scully, get the guns. We have to make sure." Scully dashed to the kitchen and grabbed both of their guns once the doorbell sounded. She made her way back and gave Mulder's gun to him.

Mulder flung the door open quickly and then kept the gun fixated on the man before him. Scully kept the gun on the woman but then quickly lowered it when she saw what she was holding.

"Mulder," Scully shook, her eyes began to welt up in tears. "It's them. It's John and Monica... the real them. We don't have to make sure. Look at what Monica has." Through that whole time John and Monica were both calm. Mulder looked at Scully and trusted her. He trusted what was in her eyes.

"Okay," Mulder said lowering his gun. "Dogget, Reyes, is that really you?" A smile began to form on Mulder's face as well as Scully's

"Yes," Dogget smiled along with Reyes. Mulder and Scully both stepped aside for them to come in. Of course, Mulder caught a glimpse of their necks as they stepped through the threshold. Scully's eyes flooded with tears, seeing the little boys face. Mulder looked as if he were going to cry too, but he remained silent and said nothing about the child Monica carried.

"Monica..." Scully whimpered softly.

"We have someone with us Dana," Monica carefully turned the little boy who was sleeping on her shoulder over to face them.

"Oh my God," Scully placed a hand over her mouth just before taking William into her arms. She whimpered slightly causing him to stir. Mulder watched silently with a hand on Scully's back. He was now crying as well. "Shhh," She whispered to her son. "Jeremiah was a bullfrog, he was a good friend of mine..." The only thing she could think of to do was to sing to calm him. His sky blue eyes flickered opened and saw everyone around him.

He yelled in fright and then his eyes landed on the woman holding him. William placed his hand on Scully's neck and looked up at her silent. His bottom lip was pouted out.

"William..." Scully trailed off. William turned to his father who was smiling down at him with his eyes full of tears. "Do you know who I am?"

"Mommy?" The toddler said inaudibly and skeptically.

John and Monica exchanged looks in disbelief, wondering how William could have known. Scully pulled her son tight and carried him to the couch to sit. She pulled off his coat and gloves, placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Baby, Daddy missed you so much," She wiped away her tears as William looked to Mulder who was knelt down beside Scully.

"Daddy?" William asked in the same way he had to Scully.

"Yes, William. Mommy and I have missed you so much," Mulder was still crying as he placed a kiss on his son's cheek.

Dogget and Reyes now began to cry. Dogget held Reyes in his arms and let her cry silently into his forearm. Doggett's tears streamed silently down his cheeks from the corners of his eye lids.

"Scully... I have a uhm-"

"Why is evy-one cwying?" William interrupted the conversation between Reyes and Scully, and then fright over took his face. "I'm sorry!" He blurted out and then began crying hysterically. Mulder made a motion to pick him up but then William grew even more afraid; he cowered as Mulder reached for him.

"Will...It's okay Buddy. Come here," Mulder scooped him into his arms and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Shhh..." Scully just stared, frightened at what her son was afraid of. William looked at his daddy and he was done crying. "You don't have to be sorry for anything, William. You didn't do anything bad. We're all crying because we are so happy to have you back. No one is going to hurt you, son." He rocked him in his arms to soothe his sobs. 

"Monica... do you know anything about what just happened." Scully asked with wide eyes, all alarmed.

"Yes, I was going to get to that. You see, William had been abused-" Scully cut her off right then.

"Excuse me? What? I let my son go to these people who harmed him!" She began to grow infuriated, but allowed Monica to go on.

"At first, he was introduced into a loving family with a mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Van de Kamp. His mother died in a horrible plane crash and then his father resorted to alcohol. His father died two days ago in a car accident, leaving William as an orphan. I know it sounds odd that this all could happen in just a little over a year." Monica pulled out a notebook from her bag. "This was among William's possessions. I assume he just began coloring pictures that weren't as abstract. I flipped through it quickly, but I think there's something you should see." Monica flipped to a page with three stick figures on it. The first had long orange hair, the second was presumably William, short with brown hair and blue eyes. The third, was the tallest and with brown hair. The three looked like a little family. The two adults had no faces in the picture. Scully took the notebook into her own hands and gasped. Mulder walked over with William who was now smiling.

"Mulder, look," Scully said showing him the picture. William pointed to it.

"Mine!" William cheered and reached for his notebook with both hands.

"Yes, William that is yours." Scully handed it to William, who was placed onto the floor.

"Mulder did you get any of what Monica just said to Scully?" Dogget asked.

"No... what was it?" William climbed onto the couch.

"Mulder, William was abused. That's why he was so afraid. I collected his doctor records; if you'd like them," Monica handed them to Scully.

"I figured that, Monica. I was just about to ask you. The way he reacted..." Mulder trailed off as Scully leaned onto his shoulder. He placed a kiss on her forehead. Scully turned to her friends who were now sitting on the loveseat opposite of the couch.

"How is everything at the bureau? How's Skinner? Is William in danger? Have there been any more encounters with..."

"Only the one I told you about months ago. But, Skinner is fine. He misses you both. We all do. He would have been in danger if we haven't gotten him in time. He would've been brought to the state foster home; they would've found him," Reyes answered. Scully nodded, trying to ignore the fact that William could've been hurt. She couldn't bear the thought of it. 

"Are you two staying long?" Scully asked wiping her tears.

"We actually have to get back in two hours." Dogget looked from Reyes to Scully as he answered.

"Oh, John, what time is it?" Reyes grabbed John's wrist and checked the time, 6:15. Her eyes became wide. "John, we better go, and soon." She frowned, turning to Scully and walking up to hug her friend.

"Bye, Monica. Please, stay safe," Scully whispered as Monica held her. They both began to sob again, as Mulder and Dogget both shared a manly hug goodbye.

"You take care, Dogget," Mulder said in a sincere voice. He was close to crying once again.

"I will Mulder. You and Dana stay safe, along with that baby." He gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Dogget went to Scully and pulled her into a warm embrace as Mulder and Reyes did the same.

"Thank you for everything, John." Scully sobbed onto his shoulder.

After dropping off two suitcases full of William's belongings, Reyes and Dogget both left. It was 6:30 and Mulder had reservations at a nice restaurant for him and Scully for 7. Yes, he had something planned before that, but none of that mattered because they had their little boy back. He had out one of his coloring books and he was coloring in it.

"Hey William, are you hungry?" Scully said picking up her son and holding him out in front of her.

"Uh huh," He replied with a smile.

"Well, let's get you all dressed up because you, Daddy, and I are going to go some place nice." She kissed William on the cheek and set him on the couch so she could look through his suitcase.

She pulled out a red polo and black corduroy pants for William. She told Mulder to go get the car heated while she got William ready.

"Now," Scully started, taking William upstairs to her and Mulder's bedroom. "Can you dress yourself, Willie? Or do you need Mommy to help you?" William shuddered; Scully took notice. "Willie, sweetheart, it's alright. Here let Mommy help." She pulled the sweater he had on over his head, revealing a few bruises. Her eyes welt up in tears, but she didn't blink. She didn't want William to see her crying. "Arms up, baby," Scully waited for him so raise his arms so she could slide on the red Ralph Lauren polo.

After changing him into his pants she allowed him to jump off the bed, and she and her son made their way downstairs.

"Do you know what today is, Will?" She asked, helping him slide into his coat. "It's Valentine's Day." William ran over to his suitcase which wasn't yet opened and he pulled out a familiar looking brown bear.

"Willie's bear come too?" He asked holding up the very same bear that Mulder had gotten him.

"Yes, sweetie, your bear can come too. Is there anything else you would like to take?" He ran towards his Mommy shaking his head. "Okay, well let's go get Daddy in the car."

It was a roughly a five minute drive to the restaurant, and Mulder had called in ahead of time that there was going to be another person apart of their party.

William sat in his high chair, coloring on the place mat he had gotten, and he held the bear too.

"What're you drawing buddy?" Mulder asked causing William to hold up his drawing with a smile. "Potato"

"That's very good Willie. Do you like potatoes?" Scully asked smiling to Mulder and then to William.

"Mmhm!" He nodded.

---  
"Toys!" William cheered pointing to the claw machine in the front of the restaurant.

"Do you want Daddy to win you something?" Scully asked her son, smirking to Mulder. Willie's face lit up.

"Please," William politely said looking to Mulder.

"Of course, Willie," Mulder smiled, got up, and then ruffled his kid's hair.

"Rob, wait," Scully called out to Mulder, who turned around quickly. "Take William, with you." He came back and William had jumped out of his seat and outstretched his arms up to his father, signaling what he wanted. Mulder obliged and picked him up, holding him close as they walked to the front of the restaurant.

---  
"Alright, Willie, which one do you want?" Mulder turned to William who pointed at a green alien in the corner. It was obviously going to be impossible to get on the first few tries. "The alien, alright. Here, do you want to put the money in the slot?" William smiled up to his daddy as he handed him two quarters for his first two attempts. "Right there, Will," Mulder pointed to the slot. The first two attempts failed but Mulder did manage to move around a few stuffed animals to make it easier to get the green alien. William pouted and whimpered. "No, it's okay Will. Daddy's going to keep trying, okay?" Mulder rubbed Williams back. His face lit up again when Mulder gave him coins to put into the machine. Still the alien was obviously not going to be grabbed, so since he was moving a duck to get to it he dropped the duck into the hole and William reached in to grab it. William smiled and then turned to his daddy, confused. "I'm going to get you that alien, Willie." He smiled.

So Mulder tried again, this time almost latching on to it, grabbing it a little. He moved the alien so that it was more likely to get picked up. So on the next try, he grabbed on to it and onto a little polar bear. Both dropped into that hole and William cheered with excitement, and looked to his daddy.

"Go get them, Will!" Mulder smiled back to his son happily. William reached both hands into the hole and pulled out both stuffed animals. "Let's go show Mommy." Mulder picked up William and carried him back to the table while he held the three plush toys.

"Wow, Willie, what did Daddy get you?" Scully asked, as Mulder helped William get into his chair.

"Bear, Ali-uhm, and Duck," William cheered holding up the three. The duck flew into Scully's finished soup, and William looked up in tears. His smile had faded into a frown.

"Aw, come here, Willie, it's okay." William whimpered as Scully picked him up. "Mommy has you." Mulder dried the duck off with a napkin. "Rob, I'm going to take William to the car. Can you get the check, please?" Mulder looked thoughtfully at his wife and son.

"Sure, sweetheart," Mulder put the keys on the table while Scully helped William into his jacket, putting his hat and scarf on as well.

"Come on, Willie, we're going to go home. Do you want some candy?" Scully stopped at the register and took the lollipop from the woman behind the counter's hand, "Thank you."

Scully strapped her hiccupping child in the car seat and went around to the other side to sit with him.

"William," Scully started stroking her child's face with her hand. "Daddy and I love you so much." She handed him his bear.

"Tired," William turned uncomfortably in his seat. Scully unbuckled him and brought him to her lap where she rocked him. She figured Mulder would be a few more minutes.

"William was a bullfrog... Was a good friend of mine... Never understood a single word he said... But I helped him drink his whine... And it must've been some mighty fine wine... joy to the world... all the boys and girls... joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea... joy to you and me... If I were king of the world...tell you what I'd do," Mulder had entered the car and Scully stopped her soft singing. She looked down and William who was asleep holding his bear from Mulder. She quietly maneuvered her body in a position where she could get William into his car seat. He moved uneasily once in it, but then became calm once again.

"You're such a wonderful mother," Mulder rubbed Scully on the shoulder once she got into the car. "You know I had something planned before dinner, and it was going to be amazing. But honestly I don't think anything could make this day more perfect." Scully smiled just before Mulder went in for a kiss.

"You're a wonderful father, Mulder. I think you're right nothing could make this day more perfect. It's the best Valentine's Day ever." They pulled out of the parking lot and made their way home.

It was dark and the family pulled their car out of the falling snow and into the garage. Mulder carried his son's sleeping form through the house to the bedroom, while Scully brought both of his suitcases upstairs.

"Here are his pajamas," Scully pulled out a blue sleeper with footies. "Let's be careful not to wake him, he looks so peaceful." Mulder and Scully pulled him out of his jacket to undress him and Scully once again saw the bruises on his sides as they slipped him into the soft material. "Why, Mulder? Why would somebody hurt an innocent child of two years of age?" Scully asked with tears as she zipped him up.

"I don't know, Scully. And don't blame yourself," Mulder whispered, pulling back the covers so Scully could place William in the middle of the bed. "I know that's what you're doing. It's not your fault this happened. You gave William up for his own good. He was safe from all that wanted to harm him except that adopted dad. But, you didn't know that, baby. You're not at fault." Tears flowed silently and uncontrollably from her eyes. 

"I'm just glad we have him back Mulder," Scully gazed thoughtfully at her son, and Mulder wiped away her tears. "I love you," She sighed across to Mulder eyes.

"I love you too. Now, get some sleep. We'll start fixing up William a room tomorrow." 

Within minutes Mulder and Scully both fell asleep with their son in between them. A little under a year ago, they were beginning a new life. Now, they were beginning another, a life with their son.

**---  
This is the longest one chapter that I have ever written!  
Hope you enjoyed reading it.  
What a lovely little Valentine's Day present.**


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